Couch bed



March 1945- J. F. EPPENSTEIN COUCH-BED Filed March 8, 1943 WWHIHW A" mmPatented Mar. 6, 1945 NT. yosncs couch m n James 'F; Eppenstein,Chicago," 111., assignor to J. R. Thomas and associates,a'copartnership,

consisting-of Joseph R." Thomas, Lawrence W.

Raddatz, Louis H. Lowery, allof Chicago, Henry WiSsmiller, Wheaten,George. H. .McKeown,

-Be ford Par-h nd Theodore F. sch i tyE hursem.

' Application March 8, 1943, Serial No. 178;346

' 20m (on. 5 -18) "This invention relates to a couch'l-l'bed, i. e., acouch which is convertible into a bed'for sleep ing'purposes. Inparticular, the present improve- ..ments are concerned with featurescontributing to simplicity of construction, ease of operation,

and dependability of the operating parts.

' For its objects, my invention aims to provide an effective slidingmounting of a bed within the couch frame such that relative movement inone direction will be in response to tension means,

and in the other with a ininimumpf Y effort; a simple form of latch therelease of which may be conveniently effected; means by which the bed,when outwardly slid to an overhanging position relative to the ways onwhich it is mounted, will-" be adequately supported whereby tosustain'at any. point the load that is imposed thereon;

. and generally the arrangement andfutilization of operating parts whichareisimple, durable and efietive for theintended purposes. a

A suggestive embodiment of my invention is .set forth in theaccompanying" drawing, 1 where- .Figure. 1 is a front elevation of thepresent couch-bed; with portions of the back cushion" V and one end ofthe front brokenaw'ay to exhibit i (a) the latch release controlv and(bi the bed mounting on. one of the ways;

T 2 is a. transverse section through the,

couch-bedtaken on line 2;: of Fig. ,1;

3, which is a view similar to Fig. 2, shows the .bed 'slidloutwardlytolsleepingposition; 1 Fig.4, which is a view similartoFig. 2, showsamodified construction of couch fornassociation therewith of a doublebed;and

Fig. 5 isa view similar to Fig. 4, showing the ddublebed extending out,ready for use.

As herein shown, I utilize a base comprising a front piece 6 joined toend pieces 1 which are inset with. respect to the couch ends 8 having aconnecting back 9 therebetween. Built into the couch back are upper andlower bracing boards 10 and II, respectively, and extending therethroughis a slidable operating rod l2, the top end l3 of which is exposed formanipulation. The lower end of this rod is turned laterally forward- 131at I4 and terminates in an upstanding beveled hook I5. Below the topboard I0 is fashioned a. strap l6 of wood or the like forming a thrustbearing for the lower end of a coil spring I! whose upper end is inengagement with a collar l8 that is fixedly carried on the rod; Inresponse to tension of the spring the rod is normally maintained in anup position where its top end I3 is me position convenient formanipulation, the collar 18 engaging with the top board'to limit-the-red movement in this direction. In response'to down pressure uponthe end of the-rod,-the'spring will be compressed, and subsequently,uponrelaxation-of such pressure, the spring will act to restore'therodoncemore to its upper position.

The end pieces 7 of the base areinsetwith respect tothe couch frame endsso as to present top surfaces 20 which lie to thexinside-thereof. These"top surfaces constitute ways whereon-is slidably mounted'a'bed hereshown as comprising a'frame in the form of a box with-endsll, a front22,9. back 23, and a top '26. "If desired,

' arail "may be sup'portedon each'way toreceive thereon rollers 26 eachof which is 'mountedto rotate about a fixed axis finding support in theend board of the bed frame. Two such rollers are shown in'each end ofthe bed frame whereby *to minimize the friction occasioned by in and outsliding'movements of the bed relative-to the couch frame.

So that the bed" frame may be confined-to movements in a horizontalplane, appropriate guiding means are provided, For'this purpose'theinner'face of each end may be recessed across ltSIlOWGI' portionwhere a board 381s mounted therein, the top edge of theiboard beingspaced slightly from the overhanging shoulder'formed 'by the recesswhereby. to provide therewith a guideway 3|. This guideway which extendsfor- "wardly from a point close to the back for;nearly the'full width ofthe end, is terminated by a "shoulder 32 which upstands from the forwardend of the board "30. Affixedto each end of the bed frame is a tongue 35which fitsslidinglyinto theproximate guideway, the length of thetongueof the bed for a desired distance.

being such as to permit outward movement is adequately supported so thata substantial I weight may be safely sustained upon itsforward edge.

Aflixed to the underside of the bed-frame at a point opposite the hookI5 is a fitting 40 having a depending lip 4| with which this hook isadapted to engage. The forward face of the hook is bev- 'eled so thatwhen the bed is advanced inwardly to its limit this lipwill ride up onthe hook which, after first depressing, will again ascend to lock withthe fitting 40 whereby to releasably latch the I I This move- I bed inplace. It is desirable, also, to employ a pair of tension springs 42,one near each end of the bed, and each connected at its forward end tothe base front 1 and at its rearward end to an arm 43 which depends fromthe base frame. These springs are tensioned so as to exert a force whichurges the bed to advance outwardly from the couch following release ofthe latch.

Carried upon the top of the bed frame is a mattress 45 which serves as acushion for normal lounging use. When the bed is fully retracted, itsrear board 23 will engage the bottom brace board H which acts as a stoptherefor, and the mattress which extends for the full width of the bedis then positioned along its rear edge close to the back of the couchframe. The mattress is, of course, free to move with the bed frame andnormally advances therewith in each operation thereof.

According to the showing of Figs. 2 and 3, the couch frame is providedwith a back cushion 58 which is desirably extended for, the full lengthof the couch. This cushion, as shown, is substantially flush with thetop board 9 and from this point downwardly is inclined outwardly so thatthe bottom of the cushion has an increased span. The cushion bottomterminates just above the top of the mattress, the space therebetweenbeing desirably the minimum. The mattress is free to move in under thecushion as shown in Fig. 2. The range of outward movement of the bed isdesirably about equal to the span of the cushion along its bottom, sothat when fully extended as shown in Fig. 3, the rear edge of themattress will lie about opposite the extreme forward point of the rearcushion.

For the double bed construction, shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the operatingparts are the same and consequently bear corresponding referencecharacters. In one respect only is there any change and that is in themounting of the back cushion for the couch. In this case the cushion,designated as 55, may be built on to a back board 56 and in lounging useis rested upon the mattress in an inclined position about as determinedby supporting pins 51 which extend inwardly from each end of the couch.For sleeping use, however, this cushion is moved from the position ofFig. 4 to the horizontal position of Fig. 5 where it lies flush with thebed mattress, being then rested upon the back board I l and a pair ofledges 58 which are carried upon the inside faces of the couch ends.When the span of the cushion is added to that of the mattress, a fulldouble width bed is provided.

In this couch-bed use of ordinary fittings and metal parts is reduced toa minimum. The frame boards of the couch and of the bed are largely ofwood, each being covered or upholstered in accordance with dictates ofgood taste. To convert from a couch to a bed, nothing need be donebeyond pressing the rod end l3-the bed will then advance outwardly inresponse to tension of the springs and stop at the pre-arranged point.To convert back to a couch, pressure from the hands or knees is all thatis required for return to its initial position where the bed isautomatically locked, awaiting the next call for its conversion.

I claim:

1. In a couch-bed, a couch frame providing a back and ends, a baseunderlying each end and having end pieces inset relative to said ends toprovide two ways inside thereof, a bed frame extending between the couchends and slidably mounted on the two ways for inward and outwardmovements of the bed frame relative to the couch frame, and relativelyslidable interlocking means on each end of the bed frame and couch frameand located above and spaced from said ways and arranged to confinemovements of the bed frame to a horizontal plane and limitingthe outwardmovement of the bed frame and cooperating with said ways to support thebed frame when the latter is advanced to an overhanging position beyondthe front end of the ways. 7

2. In a couch-bed, a couch frame providing a back and ends all in rigidrelation to each other, a pair of spaced ways extending from front toback of the couch frame, one near each end thereof, a bed frameextending between the couch ends for substantially the width thereof andslidably mounted on the two ways for movement forwardly of the waysbeyond the front ends thereof, a mattress carried by the bed frame formovement therewith, a cushion carried by the couch back just above themattress whereby the latter is free to slide thereunder when the bedframe is moved to an in position, spring means connecting the bed andcouch frames and exerting a force tending to advance the bed frameoutwardly to a position forwardly of the couch frame, a verticallymovable operating rod slidably mounted in the back of the couch frameand having an upper. operating end exposed at the top of said back, saidoperating rod extending downwardlyto the bottom portion of the couch-bedand having a laterally projecting latch member provided with a catch, afitting carried by the bed frame and provided with a projecting liparranged to engage with the catch of said latch member when the bedframe is moved to said in position whereby the bed frame is lockedagainst outward movement.

JAMES F. EPPENSTEIN.

